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enFri, 16 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/maltese-couple-killed-in-traffic-accident-in-sydney.670836
A Maltese couple on holiday in Australia were killed in a car crash in Sydney, TVM has reported.
The couple - Doreen and Lorry Pulis, 58 and 57, from Birżebbuġa, left Malta last week and were staying with Ms Pulis’s brother, who also died in the accident.
Australian media did not name the victims.
Ms Pulis’s brother was driving a car involved in a crash with a truck before ploughing headlong into a fence in Sydney's southwest. It appeared the car had veered into the truck's path.
They were treated on site by paramedics but died on the spot.
Another two passengers in the car were injured.
Eleven ambulance units, including two rescue helicopters, arrived at the scene at Campbelltown Road in Campbelltown to find a “distressing" incident, paramedics said.
]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 10:27:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/maltese-couple-killed-in-traffic-accident-in-sydney.670836https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/caruana-galizia-billboards-removal-sparks-protests.670927
A decision to remove a number of billboards on Friday night, including ones calling for justice in the Daphne Caruana Galizia case, has been described as tantamount to a regime using its power to trample on basic freedoms of those who criticise it.
The government may have had every reason at law to enforce the removal of billboards but it has neglected those reasons every day before Friday night, Occupy Justice said in a statement.
It decided to carry out the action because of the 'Ebbing, Missouri' style protest billboards went up that same morning.
The banners put up by the #OccupyJustice read "A journalist killed. No Justice", "A country robbed. No Justice", and "No resignations. No Justice."
The banners echo the Oscar-nominated film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which an anguished mother seeks justice for her murdered daughter.
Occupy Justice said the authorities chose a Friday night to carry out its enforcement, causing traffic chaos and inconvenience, "to combine its vile act of suppression with our gathering in Valletta at the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial".
Watch: Mintoff picture will remain on Caruana Galizia memorial as 'symbol of violence,... ]]>Sat, 17 Feb 2018 09:26:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/caruana-galizia-billboards-removal-sparks-protests.670927https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/photos-of-mintoff-raymond-caruana-karin-grech-placed-on-caruana.670832
The controversy surrounding the makeshift memorial to Daphne Caruana Galizia in Valletta took a new twist after photos of Raymond Caruana, Dom Mintoff and Karin Grech were placed alongside that of the slain journalist.
Karin Grech was killed in a letter bomb addressed to her father in 1977 at the height of the doctors' strike, Raymond Caruana, a Nationalist activist, was killed at the Gudja party club in 1986, while Dom Mintoff - a long-time prime minister and reviled by Ms Caruana Galizia - died in 2012.
It is not know who placed the photos of the three overnight - the four-month anniversary of the journalist's murder - but the stunt is expected to fuel further debate.
Many critics of the blogger felt the memorial at the foot of the Great Siege monument, located opposite the law courts, was not the right place. Their opposition has only fuelled the resolve of many others who said they will not stay silent until the murder masterminds are caught.
Just last Tuesday, Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli ruled that a motion to remove the makeshift memorial to Ms Caruana Galizia was inadmissable, as the council had no jurisdiction over the Great Siege memorial.
Valletta 2018... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 09:05:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/photos-of-mintoff-raymond-caruana-karin-grech-placed-on-caruana.670832https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/casa-to-present-damning-konrad-mizzi-evidence-in-court-on-monday.670931
Updated 3pm with Mizzi reaction
MEP David Casa will on Monday head to court to present all evidence in his possession to prove Minister Konrad Mizzi's connection with corruption and money laundering.
The development elicited an equally scathing reaction from the minister who accused the MEP of being obsessed with him.
The damning report he will be presenting, concluded in March 2017, includes "details of schemes, systems, behaviour and collusion in corruption and money laundering, involving officials at the highest levels of the Maltese government", he said in a statement on Saturday.
Mr Casa revealed he had been invited by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja to present all evidence in his possession under oath at 9am after presenting an application in court on Friday.
The MEP said the damning report concludes that criminal investigations should start against Minister Mizzi on alleged money laundering and the possible existence of money derived from crime.
"As I have already stated, it is my belief that the judiciary is the last remaining hope for the Maltese people as all other institutions have been exposed as government mouthpieces more interested in concealing the criminal activities... ]]>Sat, 17 Feb 2018 11:19:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/casa-to-present-damning-konrad-mizzi-evidence-in-court-on-monday.670931https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/watch-sparks-fly-as-mintoff-and-caruana-galizia-share-the-same-shrine.670852
The decision to put portraits of Raymond Caruana, Dom Mintoff and Karin Grech alongside that of Daphne Caruana Galizia in a makeshift shrine has elicited diverse reactions with almost one common denominator - the pictures of the former prime minister should not sit on the same platform.
It is not know who placed the photos of the three overnight - the four-month anniversary of the journalist's murder - but the stunt is expected to fuel further debate.
The controversy surrounding the memorial in front of the Great Siege monument in Valletta showed no signs of slowing down, as Times of Malta took to the streets to gauge people's reactions.
Some of the respondents disagreed that new photos were added to the one of Ms Caruana Galizia, saying the memorial should remain dedicated to the journalist.
Others pointed out that Mr Mintoff's photo stands out since he was not murdered like the other three.
“It’s not his place,” one person said. “We should put up photos of everyone who died then!” another added, insisting that the memorial should be dedicated to those who were victims of bomb killings. But one youngster said that only the slain journalist's picture should be removed from the... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 14:59:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/watch-sparks-fly-as-mintoff-and-caruana-galizia-share-the-same-shrine.670852https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/who-killed-daphne-banners-mark-four-months-since-caruana-galizias.670777
Updated 9.30am with #OccupyJustice billboards
Several banners were displayed in various vantage points on Thursday night to mark the four months since journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb.
The first banners erected late on Thursday read: "Who killed Daphne?"
Later, other banners were put up by the #OccupyJustice reading "A journalist killed. No Justice", "A country robbed. No Justice", and "No resignations. No Justice."
The banners echo the Oscar-nominated film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which an anguished mother seeks justice for her murdered daughter.
After months pass without the culprit being caught, the mother makes a bold move, and puts up three billboards on a main motorway, with pointed messages directed at the town's revered chief of police, the pressure group said in a statement.
In the case of Malta, the billboards, placed along Regional Road and the Coast Road, are directed at the Prime Minister, #OccupyJustice said. The billboards specify that they were not financed by any political party.
It said in a statement:
“The country is rife with corruption and there is not even a semblance of justice being carried out. Yet, the... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 07:03:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/who-killed-daphne-banners-mark-four-months-since-caruana-galizias.670777https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/raymond-caruana-family-angry-at-being-exploited-at-caruana-galizia.670885
The nephew of Raymond Caruana has expressed the family's anger at the fact that his photo was put next to others at the makeshift shrine to Daphne Caruana Galizia outside the law courts.
In a Facebook post, he said it was shameless for his uncle, gunned down at a Nationalist Party club in 1986, to be used to score a point.
Photos of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, Mr Caruana and slain teenager Karin Grech were put up on the shrine, ostensibly by people wishing to make a point about its location, as well as its very existence.
Watch: Sparks fly as Mintoff and Caruana Galizia 'share' the same shrine
Stefan Caruana said it was shameful to have his uncle's photo put alongside that of somebody who had "for many years ignored the violent political elements" which had led to his death, in reference to Mr Mintoff.
He appealed to people to be brave, saying the Caruana family had suffered as much as Ms Caruana Galizia's and the Grech family.
"Those who want to commemorate the murder of this youth know what they have to do," he wrote, saying he hoped that justice would one day be done.
Raymond Caruana, 26, was shot dead on December 5, 1986, as he was celebrating at a reception marking... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 19:58:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/raymond-caruana-family-angry-at-being-exploited-at-caruana-galizia.670885https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/david-casa-to-present-fiau-report-in-court-today.670844
Updated at 12.40pm with Konrad Mizzi's statement
MEP David Casa is on Friday presenting a report by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) on Minister Konrad Mizzi to an inquiring magistrate, insisting it contains enough evidence for legal action against the minister.
Addressing journalists, Mr Casa said since no action had been taken by the authorities despite the report stating that immediate, legal action against Dr Mizzi should be taken, he had no option but to present the report in court.
While he would not divulge details of the report, to “respect the court's process”, Mr Casa said the information contains details of bank transactions, trips abroad and other activities by Dr Mizzi as well as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri.
Read: FIAU reacts as David Casa says new report leaves ‘no choice' but for Mizzi, Schembri to be removed
"The report also includes dates, figures, names of other people and information on the fabrication of documents that made what Dr Mizzi did possible. Once again, Pilatus Bank is also mentioned," Mr Casa said.
Reiterating that he did not trust the Police Commissioner, the FIAU or the Attorney General, Mr Casa insisted... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 12:12:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/david-casa-to-present-fiau-report-in-court-today.670844https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/demolition-of-ballutas-historic-villa-prompts-possible-court-action.670806
Din L-Art Ħelwa has requested the court to rule on whether contempt of court proceedings should be taken against the Planning Authority and developers over the controversial demolition of Balluta's historic Villa St Ignatius.
In its application, Din L-Art Ħelwa, represented by lawyer Franco Vassallo, claims that the developer, Paul Gauci, and his architect, Stephen Vancell, breached the conditions of a court order in carrying out the demolition.
It also claims that Planning Authority executive chairman Johann Buttigieg and enforcement director Martin Scicluna failed to stop the works and issued a written statement that the case had been investigated and found to be in line with the court order, when this was manifestly not the case.
The case was heard by Judge Anna Felice, and a decision on whether to initiate contempt of court proceedings will be handed down on March 20.
An entire wing of Villa St Ignatius was demolished over the course of nearly a week last November and December, just days after Din L-Art Ħelwa had applied for the building to be scheduled.
Watch: Workers send Villa St Ignatius structure crashing down
The villa is part of a larger property which once housed... ]]>Sat, 17 Feb 2018 10:30:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/demolition-of-ballutas-historic-villa-prompts-possible-court-action.670806https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/vigil-marks-murder-of-caruana-galizia-four-months-ago.670883
Updated 8pm
The picture of Dom Mintoff controversially placed at a makeshift memorial to Daphne Caruana Galizia will remain there as a symbol that there “remain people who support corruption and political violence,” the organisers of a vigil said on Friday.
Hundreds turned up in front of the makeshift memorial commemorating murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Valletta on the fourth month since her brutal murder in Bidnija.
Organised by the Civil Society Network, among others, various speakers spoke about their commitment not only to keep her murder on top of the island's agenda but also to keep up her fight for good governance and against corruption.
Taking a dig at the placing of former Labour leader's Dom Mintoff portrait next to Ms Caruana Galizia’s, one of the speakers said that although the former prime minister died of natural causes his image could stay in its place for people to remember the corruption and violence under his leadership in the 1970s and 1980s.
Read: Photos of Mintoff, Raymond Caruana, Karin Grech placed on Caruana Galizia's memorial
Louiselle Vassallo said that despite the organised provocation by quarters close to the office of the prime... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 18:50:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/vigil-marks-murder-of-caruana-galizia-four-months-ago.670883https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/photos-show-oil-slick-leaking-out-of-doomed-qawra-vessel.670935
Updated 6.45pm with authorities' reaction
Aerial pictures taken on Saturday morning showed an oil slick coming out of a bunkering vessel which ran aground at Qawra Point last week.
"It is stretching out towards fish farms, polluting coastal areas and clearly there are no measures being taken to contain collect and or protect further damage," the reader Conrad Micallef, who sent in the pictures, told Times of Malta.
The Maltese maritime authorities had said the tanker had no cargo and there was no risk of pollution. It was carrying four cubic metres of fuel, but Environment and Resources Authority officials monitoring the site said there was no risk of it seeping out.
Transport Malta said on Saturday evening that the salvage contractor is deploying oil spill equipment to contain a "minor diesel sheen" that seeped out from the vessel earlier in the day.
Transport Malta and Environment Resources Authority personnel have been monitoring the vessel since it ran aground and are following the situation closely.
"The vessel does not contain any heavy oil and thus there is no real risk of pollution. Water has reached a breach in the hull and an amount of old diesel seeped out from within. ]]>Sat, 17 Feb 2018 13:24:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/photos-show-oil-slick-leaking-out-of-doomed-qawra-vessel.670935https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/maltese-couple-who-died-in-sydney-car-crash-were-attending-family.670917
A Maltese couple killed in a horrific traffic accident in Australia on Friday morning were in the country to attend a family wedding.
Maria Dolores, 57, and Laurence Pulis, 60, from Birżebbuġa, were killed instantaneously when the car they were in crashed into a truck.
They were staying with Ms Pulis’s brother who also died in the incident. They were in Sydney to attend Ms Pulis’s nephew’s wedding.
Five people were in the car when it collided with the semi-trailer then crashed into a fence at Bow Bowing, near Campbelltown, about 11.20am on Friday (1.20am Malta time). Ms Pulis’s brother, 74, was driving the car.
A 76-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man who were also in the car were treated on site by paramedics and rushed to hospital by helicopter for treatment.
The injured woman was trapped in the car for 20 minutes with suspected spinal and chest injuries before being freed by the paramedics.
The man was taken to Liverpool Hospital with suspected pelvic and chest injuries. Their condition is believed to be serious but stable, according to the Australian media.
Eleven ambulance units, including two rescue helicopters, arrived at the scene at Campbelltown Road to find a... ]]>Sat, 17 Feb 2018 05:02:03 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/maltese-couple-who-died-in-sydney-car-crash-were-attending-family.670917https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/mp-former-parliamentary-secretary-given-direct-orders.670805
A sitting MP and a former parliamentary secretary, both of whom were part of Joseph Muscat’s Cabinet in the last legislature, have been awarded government direct orders with a combined value exceeding €150,000.
It transpires that former parliamentary secretary for planning Deborah Schembri has been engaged by a State entity she was politically responsible for, the Planning Authority, for the sum of €126,000.
The other direct order involves former tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis, who, unlike Dr Schembri, is still an MP.
Dr Zammit Lewis was engaged as a Lands Authority legal representative in court, for which he got paid €24,600.
Details on direct orders given by the Planning and the Lands authorities were divulged by Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg in a parliamentary question filed by Opposition MP Ryan Callus.
According to the data tabled in Parliament, between December 1, 2016, and the end of last month these two entities awarded 23 direct orders between them, whose combined value was of €769,351.
The highest expense was incurred for the provision of legal consultancy to the PA executive council and for “technical” aspects in connection to the implementation of the... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 18:30:01 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/mp-former-parliamentary-secretary-given-direct-orders.670805https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/world/prove-after-huge-sinkhole-swallows-cars-in-rome-street.670797
Authorities in Rome have launched an investigation after a 30ft-wide sinkhole swallowed half a dozen cars on a residential street.
No one was injured in Wednesday evening's collapse in the Balduina neighbourhood, but families in nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
The ANSA news agency said prosecutors had placed a property owner and the company handling construction along the road under investigation.
Rome mayor Virginia Raggi visited the site and stressed that the sinkhole, which appeared to shave off the entire side of the road, occurred at an active construction site, and that the situation is under control. ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 06:48:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/world/prove-after-huge-sinkhole-swallows-cars-in-rome-street.670797https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/church-evasive-over-carnival-during-lent.670799
The Church would not say whether it deemed holding carnival during Lent problematic, instead reminding people that they should find the time to “receive the Sacraments, especially during Sunday Mass”.
The Times of Malta sent questions to the Curia after readers expressed concern that holding carnival during Lent was wrong, insisting this was a holy period and not one of merrymaking. Some readers also argued that the change meant tradition was being “done away with”.
Carnival festivities are being held this weekend after being postponed when the islands were battered by torrential rains and strong winds. The storm was so severe at times that warnings were issued by the police, urging motorists to avoid low-lying areas.
Early on a Saturday, a man was killed when a tree crushed his vehicle while driving in Mrieħel. Shortly after, a large vessel ran aground in Qawra but none of the crew were injured.
When asked for a reaction about the change, since this is the first time that carnival events will be held during Lent - which commenced on Wednesday - a Church spokesman did not reply, stating instead that it “invited Christians to find the time, particularly during Lent, to receive... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 17:15:07 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/church-evasive-over-carnival-during-lent.670799https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/malta-will-also-have-to-take-migrants-saved-in-the-med-berlusconi.670804
Silvio Berlusconi, whose party is touted to return to power in next month's Italian election, insists not all migrants saved in the Mediterranean will disembark in Italy as Malta would have to accept them too.
“There is no doubt that migrants who risk their life and cross the Mediterranean have to be saved. However, we will not accept that all disembark in Italy. Those saved close to Malta will have to be taken to and disembark in Malta,” the former Italian prime minister and leader of Forza Italia said on Rai Tre.
Harshly criticising an agreement made by the incumbent centre-left government, through which Italy accepted to take all migrants saved in the Mediterranean, Mr Berlusconi said things would be different if his party was elected to government.
“It is not on that we continue to shoulder all the burden alone. Other countries that have responsibility for search and rescue will also have to share in the burden,” he said.
Until 2011, when Mr Berlusconi shared power with the anti-immigration movement Lega Nord, Malta and Italy had clashes on who should take irregular immigrants saved in Malta’s search and rescue area.
Read: Pregnant woman's funeral on stranded cargo... ]]>Sat, 17 Feb 2018 12:25:02 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/local/malta-will-also-have-to-take-migrants-saved-in-the-med-berlusconi.670804https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/enough-water-to-cope-for-a-month-in-case-of-emergency.670887
Malta's three reverse osmosis plants would be able to cover demand in the unlikely event that something were to happen to one of them, the Water Services Corporation said.
Noting that this was the result of considerable investment over the years, the corporation said that the remaining two plants would be able to increase capacity to be able to meet demand.
It also said that if the largest were to fail, then the corporation would still be able to provide sufficient water for a month - more than long enough for the necessary repairs.
The corporation was reacting to a flyer doing the rounds from the Malta Water Association, which it said bore the logo of the University of Malta. The flyer said that if anything were to happen to a plant, Malta would only have enough water for two days. ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 20:25:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/enough-water-to-cope-for-a-month-in-case-of-emergency.670887https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/cash-for-passports-applicants-capping-should-be-scrapped.670802
Restricting the number of successful applicants seeking to buy Maltese passports should be stopped and the programme should be reviewed every five years, the government has been told.
The recommendation was made by Eric Major who was CEO of Henley & Partners until last June.
Henley & Partners is the concessionaire managing the cash-for-passports scheme, officially known as the Individual Investor Programme.
Mr Major made submissions on behalf of a recently-established firm called Latitude Residency and Citizenship, of which he is a founding partner.
Launched in 2014, the IIP had been capped at 1,800 applicants but the government recently announced its intention to extend the programme further and is inviting stakeholders to put forward their ideas.
Read: Public consultation on how, not if, passports scheme will be extended
Mr Major is proposing that the number of successful applicants should be left at the government’s discretion.
“Whilst there is merit in ensuring a regular re-adjustment of the programme, as is currently undertaken, it need not be driven by the expiry of an application cap. Rather, the government should make it policy to review and adjust the programme every... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 13:34:04 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/cash-for-passports-applicants-capping-should-be-scrapped.670802https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/odd-news/watch-30-person-brawl-breaks-out-on-cruise-ship.670957
Passengers experienced the cruise from hell after several fights broke out on board a Melbourne-bound cruise ship.
The 10-day cruise to the South Pacific was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Eden, New South Wales, for 23 members of a Melbourne family to be removed following the brawl.
Other passengers caught the violence on camera, with several videos of the incident showing up to 30 people fighting while others screamed and the ship’s security guards pinned the perpetrators to the floor.
It is believed days of fighting preceded the scuffle before the 23 members of a family were forced off.
Earlier on Saturday, witnesses said a large family had “picked on Aussies” and “strangled and punched” passengers for three days before Carnival Legend called police and offloaded the relatives. ]]>Sat, 17 Feb 2018 19:02:00 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180217/odd-news/watch-30-person-brawl-breaks-out-on-cruise-ship.670957https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/flu-virus-affects-production-lines-with-sickness-surge.670798
The influenza virus that hit Malta hard this winter affected production lines too, with employers reporting a massive surge in workers calling in sick.
Although no official figures are available yet, Malta Employers’ Association’s director general, Joe Farrugia, said members reported an increase in the number of workers absent from work because they were sick.
“Many employers have reported a surge in sick leave due to the flu outbreak and this occurred across all sectors,” he said.
Read: Flu cases double, piling pressure on hospital staff
“However, many companies have contingencies to deal with such situations and, in most cases, this enables them to keep disruptions in production within acceptable levels.”
A chief executive of a medium-sized company, who asked not to be named, said almost three-quarters of his employees were sick over a three-week period between mid-January and the first week of February.
Read: Flu season expected to be more severe than usual
“As you can imagine, this had an effect on production. I had the rest of the employees working overtime but there’s a limit to how much can be done. They couldn’t possibly do everything and it would have been unfair of me... ]]>Fri, 16 Feb 2018 08:02:08 +0100https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180216/local/flu-virus-affects-production-lines-with-sickness-surge.670798